Nikki Haley's campaign to get under Donald Trump's skin: Why she taunted him on 'SNL'

WASHINGTON – Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley took her campaign trail attacks on former President Donald Trump over the weekend to the biggest stage yet: "Saturday Night Live."

Appearing in the opening sketch as a South Carolina voter attending a Trump town hall, Haley delivered punchlines about her rival's age and his refusal to debate her. She jabbed at what she has called "unhinged" statements from the Republican presidential front-runner and suggested he take a "mental competency test."

"You spent $50 million in your own legal fees," Haley joked at one point to the "SNL" actor who typically impersonates Trump. "Do you need to borrow some money?”

The New York studio crowd whooped it up over their surprise guest.

'Tricky Nikki'

Haley's "SNL" cameo served notice to Trump of her intent to campaign aggressively in her long-shot bid for an upset in the Feb. 24 presidential primary in South Carolina.

Trump holds a huge lead in Haley's home state and continues to dominate in national polls against his last serious GOP challenger.

Haley is taking a gamble with her feistier approach. The comedy skit put her back in the spotlight after she left the campaign trail for a few days to court donors. But the attacks on Trump might backfire with GOP voters she needs to win over.

After the "Saturday Night Live" gig, Haley said on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, that she had "a blast" on the program.

"Know it was past Donald’s bedtime so looking forward to the stream of unhinged tweets in the a.m.," Haley said.

Trump didn't wait until the end of the program to launch his counterattack.

As Saturday's installment was airing, Trump used his Truth Social account to post a commercial about Haley's alleged flip-flops on various issues, from taxes to running for president.

He added a tagline: "Tricky Nikki."

The 'SNL' effect

Politicians have often used "Saturday Night Live" to knock their rivals – and to try to show voters they can take a joke. Trump himself hosted the show in 2015.

But the former U.N. ambassador's jabs came after she had spent much of her campaign soft-pedaling her criticisms of Trump, as did many of the GOP challengers who have since left the race, including Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Scott and DeSantis promptly endorsed Trump after they jumped out of the primary.

'Are you doing OK, Donald?'

Haley stepped up her criticism of Trump after losses in Iowa and New Hampshire and heading into the South Carolina primary.

Trump enjoys huge leads in Palmetto State polls, though Haley's recent hits appear to have gotten under his skin. He has attacked her Indian American heritage, mangled her name and confused her in a fiery speech with former Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Haley in turn sought to hit Trump's weak spots during her surprise appearance on "Saturday Night Live." The show's opening skit was a parody of a CNN town hall featuring the Trump character played by "SNL" regular James Austin Johnson.

The program cast Haley as a "concerned" town hall attendee and offered her a chance to make her case against Trump.

Her opening lines: “Why won’t you debate Nikki Haley?” 

When the fictional Trump responded by again mixing up Haley and Pelosi, his GOP rival responded: "Are you doing OK, Donald? ... You might need a mental competency test.”

The Trump character then made fun of Haley's name. At one point, he referred to her as "Nikki Haley Joel Osment," a reference to the actor who starred in the 1999 horror film "The Sixth Sense" and uttered the famous line "I see dead people."

“Yeah," Haley said, "that’s what voters will say if they see you and Joe (Biden) on the ballot.”

'I probably should have said that the first time'

Despite the back-and-forth between a fictional Trump and Haley, she wasn't spared from criticism during the show.

At the end of the sketch, actress and host Ayo Edebiri, posing as a voter, asked Haley: “What would you say was the main cause of the Civil War? And do you think it starts with an S and ends with a lavery?”

Haley responded: “Yep, I probably should have said that the first time.”

In December, Haley drew intense criticism when she was asked during a town hall event about the cause of the Civil War. She didn't mention slavery, and her fellow Republican candidates and President Joe Biden immediately called her out for the failure on the campaign trail.

Haley later walked back her comments.

Taking the gloves off?

At the start of the 2024 campaign, Haley, as well as DeSantis, often avoided harsh criticism of Trump. She would calibrate her comments by praising the former president's policies but also saying the country needed to move on from the "chaos" he causes.

Haley shifted to much more pointed − and personal − attacks after her third-place finish in the Iowa Caucuses and second-place finish in the New Hampshire primary.

Now Haley is trying to attract Republican and independent voters wary of Trump. But by sharpening her attacks against the former president, Haley is likely to further anger Trump's supporters, who are the base of the Republican Party and could be for years to come.

Team Trump has suggested that Haley's new approach will put her on the path to political ruin.

"Haley just torpedoed her political future," Trump campaign aide Jason Miller wrote on X after Haley expressed confidence in the jury that awarded columnist E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million in defamation damages from the former president.

"There is no point of return. Haley is politically finished for ‘24, ‘28, forever," Miller said.

But Gibbs Knotts, a political science professor at the College of Charleston, said Haley's "SNL" performance shouldn't hurt her ahead of South Carolina's primary, where the former governor is hoping to show that her campaign has picked up momentum.

"Generally, it's good when politicians can show some humor," Knotts said. But he noted that her overall approach to Trump is challenging. Trump's MAGA movement is likely to remain a factor if Haley runs for president again in the future.

"It's a really tough situation she's in," Knotts said. "It's a dilemma for so many Republicans today."

Haley's aggression is no surprise, allies and analysts told USA TODAY. You have to be a fighter to rise from a little-known state legislator to governor – all as a woman of color – as Haley did in 2010.

Knotts noted that this year's fight for the Republican nomination is "a two-person race, and it’s common in American politics to criticize the main opponent. I think she will stay aggressive as long as both are in the race."

Katon Dawson, a Haley supporter and former state Republican chairman in South Carolina, said Haley's political rise was "rather an amazing sight to see." Dawson noted that Trump began attacking her in earnest the night of the New Hampshire primary, even insulting the dress she wore to a watch party.

"Look, she's just fighting back," Dawson said.